Voyage of the Dawn Treader-
Dec. 10th, 2010 10:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mary_j_59Well, my sister and I and a friend are just back from Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and here is my report. Warning - some spoilers ahead:
Is it as good as the book? Overall, not quite. Movies seldom are. But this was as good as the book in a couple of key respects, and not so good in a couple of others. They dumbed the story down a little, as my sister said, and the film was also rushed in a couple of places. I would have liked to have seen more of the magician's island and a bit less of the very hideous sea serpent, for example! And I would have liked it if they'd done Ramandu's Island correctly. What there was, was good, but there wasn't quite enough. On the other hand-
They did a very, very nice job with the characters. All the cast acquitted themselves well, but I was especially impressed - and pleased - with Reepicheep and Eustace. Their friendship was touching and Will Poulter was excellent as Eustace. I noticed that Reepicheep was also very much an adult to the child Eustace; he doesn't just give him a drubbing, for example, as he does in the book. Instead, he takes pains to teach him - swordsmanship, courage, courtesy. It was subtly done, but really rather lovely. Reepicheep's longing for Aslan's country also came through beautifully.
And, speaking of beauty, the scenery was splendid and the music well used and unobtrusive. I found it a likeable and honorable adaptation. Not the best movie of the year, perhaps, but thoroughly enjoyable if you love the book and are willing to give the filmmakers a bit of a break for changing things. The themes of temptation, repentance and transformation came through very well.
More later. Deirdre and I were looking for Sydpad's name in the credits, but didn't spot her this time.
Is it as good as the book? Overall, not quite. Movies seldom are. But this was as good as the book in a couple of key respects, and not so good in a couple of others. They dumbed the story down a little, as my sister said, and the film was also rushed in a couple of places. I would have liked to have seen more of the magician's island and a bit less of the very hideous sea serpent, for example! And I would have liked it if they'd done Ramandu's Island correctly. What there was, was good, but there wasn't quite enough. On the other hand-
They did a very, very nice job with the characters. All the cast acquitted themselves well, but I was especially impressed - and pleased - with Reepicheep and Eustace. Their friendship was touching and Will Poulter was excellent as Eustace. I noticed that Reepicheep was also very much an adult to the child Eustace; he doesn't just give him a drubbing, for example, as he does in the book. Instead, he takes pains to teach him - swordsmanship, courage, courtesy. It was subtly done, but really rather lovely. Reepicheep's longing for Aslan's country also came through beautifully.
And, speaking of beauty, the scenery was splendid and the music well used and unobtrusive. I found it a likeable and honorable adaptation. Not the best movie of the year, perhaps, but thoroughly enjoyable if you love the book and are willing to give the filmmakers a bit of a break for changing things. The themes of temptation, repentance and transformation came through very well.
More later. Deirdre and I were looking for Sydpad's name in the credits, but didn't spot her this time.